Brown Bag Lunch

Pacific Salmon, Baby Potato, Green Bean & Leek Salad

When it comes to lunches, I aim to be heavy on proteins to keep me going through the afternoon. This usually comes in the form of eggs, beans, tuna, or whole grains. This time around I happened to have Wild Pacific canned salmon from Trader Joe's, resulting in a simple, luxurious upgrade to this nicoise-like salad. 

ingredients:

4 baby potatoes, white or red

1 can salmon

1/2-3/4 lb green beans

1 leek

3 tsp olive oil, divided

1 tsp white wine vinegar

salt & pepper to taste

optional: 1.5 tsp capers, handful black olives, asparagus in lieu of green beans, fresh chopped parsley, 2 hard boiled eggs, 1.5 tsp dijon mustard, fresh squeezed lemon juice 

yield: 2 servings

1. generously salt 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.

2. cut potatoes into large cubes, add to boiling water & cook until tender to the touch of a fork.

3. meanwhile, cut the ends off of the green beans & cut in 1/2. cut the leeks into coins.

4. add 2 tsp olive oil to a frying pan & add the green beans & leeks to warmed olive oil. add salt & pepper to taste & saute until leeks turn translucent. 

5. when potatoes finish cooking, drain water into a colander. add potatoes to a large mixing bowl. 

6. open and drain off excess liquid from canned salmon (depending on the quality, you may want to remove salmon skin and tiny bones) & add to potatoes. 

7. add 1 tsp olive oil & white wine vinegar & toss potatoes and salmon together. add sauteed green beans and leeks, stir together. add salt & pepper to taste. finish with a squeeze of lemon.

this salad is easy to customize to your liking. feel free to experiment with any of suggested optional ingredients. on the greens front, I tend to go for whatever is in season, in the spring this salad features asparagus rather than green beans. when salmon is not on the menu, I use canned tuna packed in olive oil. this salad (or some of these variations therein) is a staple in my brown bag lunch repertoire.